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Fun Ways to Play and Learn with Playdough

 

There are endless ways of playing with play dough. My kids love it, because it’s something they can make from scratch, it’s soft and smells nice (if you put aroma oil, lavender, cinnamon, etc.), it’s something they can play with on their own, without any help from adults.

 

I love it because it helps me teach numbers, colours, shapes, letters and everything kids need to know before they go to school, but in a fun, enjoyable way. Here are just a couple of games and ideas to teach basic skills:

- Selling ice cream - pretend play that helps with number recognition;

- Using cutlery properly;

- Writing their name and saying how many letters there are in the name;

- Fine motor skills and letter recognition;

- Number recognition;

I hope you and the kids in your life will enjoy these activities! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soft Play Dough Recipe

 

I found this super simple recipe from kidsactivitiesblog and I wanted to try it right away! I’m very happy about the result. I added a couple more ingredients, but that’s just because I was in the mood to experiment. I’m pretty sure that the original recipe is awesome :)

 

Forget about ingredients that are difficult to find in the shop or measures that you have to modify – you just need 1 part hair conditioner and 2 parts corn starch. I added some food colouring and some glitter, but you can just leave it white. Also, I mixed in a spoon of cream of tartar, because it usually keeps the play dough from drying.

 

I stored the dough in a zip lock bag and took it to work the next day. My kids loved it! I’m going to make more with them.

Have fun!

 

 

Playdough is Amazing!

 

Most kids love playing with play dough. The possibilities are endless: you can make it, cook it, cut it, use it for pretend play, decorate it, create almost anything. You just need a little bit of creativity and some basic ingredients.

 

 

Below is one recipe that I’ve used a couple of times with the kids. It doesn’t need cooking or cream of tartar. The food colouring and scented oil are also optional. You can make it with your kids at home! It’s not the best recipe, but it is the easiest and I couldn’t find cream of tartar anywhere in Helsinki (please write me a message if you know where to find it :D).

 

 

So…here are the ingredients that I use:

  •  2 cups of flour 

  •  1 cup of salt

  •  2 tablespoons of oil

  •  1 cup of hot water

  • food coloring (liquid, powder)

  •   scented oils 

     We have printed and laminated some play dough mats, in order to practice numbers, letters, or just to have fun! You can find some great mats on picklebums.com: people play dough mats, gardening play dough mats, food play dough mats.    

 

I have been working on my own play dough mats, which you’ll be able to download from my shop on Teachers pay Teachers soon.

 

 

 

 

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